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MEMBER DIARY

Liberal Exclusion

One of the liberal Special Words is inclusion. A Special Word covers a lot of ground with a few syllables, glossing several unstated assertions to make the argument containing it difficult to defeat. Other Special Words are consensus, justice, and oppression. Honorable mentions go to the phrases “doing the right thing” and “giving back”.

In the case of inclusion, I’ve noticed that liberals are fond of policies and societal structures which do the opposite of including. The minimum wage, labor unions, abortion, and group-based politics all work to exclude those in the water from getting in the boat.

The minimum wage, for instance, insures that only those able to sell their labor for more than a certain amount will have jobs. Others will have to go into business for themselves, perhaps picking up aluminum cans from the side of the road (work I have done myself). More generally, small business people know that for the business owner, there is no minimum wage, and the owner can lose money in a given period of time. But to the extent that it has any meaning at all, the minimum wage acts to exclude the less talented from the job pool.

Labor unions have a similar effect, on a smaller scale. By fixing the wages and benefits for employees at a level higher than the marketplace would otherwise dictate, the union ensures that the employer will be able to employ fewer workers.

The Congressional Black Caucus has certain standards for membership which, if applied to a group with less melanin would be cause for justifiable outrage.

And what could be more exclusive than deciding that someone doesn’t deserve to live?